Applications are invited from creative writers for the term position of Saskatoon Public Library/Canada Council for the Arts Writer in Residence from September 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014. Remuneration: up to $30,000 for a nine-month term.

Criteria are based on Canada Council guidelines; position subject to Canada Council funding.

What can comics scholars learn from animation studies and vice versa? Do illustrated books or graphic novels resist the supposed obsolescence of the book? What do pictures want (now)?

These and related questions will be explored at the Illustration, Comics, and Animation Conference at Dartmouth College to be held April 19 – 21 2013.

Scholars interested in the illustrated image in all of its mediated guises are invited to participate in this interdisciplinary conference. Nearly all illustrated or drawn ‘texts’ are eligible for consideration:

*comics and graphic novels

*cartoons and animated films

*picture books

*illustrated books

And given the uniquely plenary nature of the conference, which brings together scholarship on static and moving illustrations, preference will be given to proposals that seek to bridge visual media. Possible topics may include:

The location of the conference may also be a source of inspiration for prospective participants. Not only does Dartmouth College lie in close proximity to the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont, but it is also the historic home of Theodor Geisel, Dr. Seuss, whose illustrated books continue to awe and amuse.

Interested participants may propose individual papers or panels. Individual papers should be no longer than 20 minutes. Panels shall be ninety minutes long and should be comprised of three presenters and one (ideally separate) panel chair. Please send 300 word abstracts and a brief bio for each proposed paper no later than December 1, 2012.

Under the direction of Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University is launching the third Manchester Poetry Prize – a major international literary competition celebrating excellence in creative writing.

The Manchester Poetry Prize will award a cash prize of £10,000 to the writer of the best poems submitted. The competition is open internationally to both new and established writers aged 16 or over; there is no upper age limit.

All entrants are asked to submit a portfolio of three to five poems (total maximum length: 120 lines). The poems can be on any subject, and written in any style or form, but must be new work, not previously published, or submitted for consideration elsewhere during this competition.

The Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children's Book Award is for a manuscript that celebrates cultural diversity in the widest possible sense, either in terms of its story or the ethnic and cultural origins of its author.

The prize of £1,500, plus the option for Janetta Otter-Barry at Frances Lincoln Children's Books to publish the novel, will be awarded to the best work of unpublished fiction for 8-to-12-year-olds by a writer, aged 18 years or over, who has not previously published a novel for children. The writer may have contributed to an anthology of prose or poetry. The work must be written in English and it must be a minimum of 15,000 words and a maximum of 35,000 words.

The closing date for all entries is 31st December 2012. Helena Mulhearn (the award's coordinator) confirmed that non-UK writers can enter the competition.

Congratulations to the following CANSCAIP members who are award winners and nominees:

Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration

At the Atlantic Book Awards held in May in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the winner of the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration was announced as There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen, illustrated by Sydney Smith, written by Sheree Fitch (Nimbus Publishing).

2012 South Asia Book Awards

The South Asia Book Award, administered by the South Asia National Outreach Consortium, is given annually for up to two outstanding works of literature and up to five Honor Books and Highly Commended Books, from early childhood to secondary reading levels, which accurately and skillfully portrays South Asia or South Asians. Titles by CANSCAIPers include:

Honor Book:No Ordinary Dayby Deborah Ellis, Groundwood Books

Highly Commended Book:Karmaby Cathy Ostlere, Razorbill

IODE Violet Downey Book Award

Janet McNaughton, author of The Dragon Seer’s Gift, published by HarperCollins Canada, wins the IODE Violet Downey Book Award for the second time. The prize was announced at the National Annual Meeting of IODE Canada in May.

2012 Chocolate Lily Awards

The winners of the 2012 Chocolate Lily Awards were announced in May. The Chocolate Lily Awards began with a desire to encourage BC grade school children to read books by authors and illustrators living in British Columbia. After seven years, Chocolate Lily has grown into a nationally recognized book awards program.Titles by CANSCAIPers include:

Congratulations to the publishers, authors, and illustrators for their 2012-2013 Chocolate Lily nominations. Titles by CANSCAIPers include:

2012-2013 Chapter Book Nominees (Grade 3 – Grade 5)

Ghosts of the Titanic by Julie Lawson, Scholastic

That Fatal Night by Sarah Ellis, Scholastic

The Runaway by Glen Huser, Fitzhenry & Whiteside

Run Marco Run by Norma Charles, Ronsdale Press

The Whole Truth by Kit Pearson, HarperCollins

Ice Storm by Penny Draper, Coteau Books

2012- 2012 Picture Book Nominees

Pussycat, Pussycat Where have you Been by Dan Bar-el, Simply Read Books

Seal Song by Andrea Spalding, Orca Books

Grandpa’s Girls by Nicola I. Campbell, Groundwood

First Nation Communities Read program

The winner of this year’s First Nation Communities Read program is Janet Wilson’s Shannen and the Dream for a School (Second Story Press), about the fight to get a new school for the Northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat.

2012 Arthur Ellis Award

The Crime Writers of Canada have announced the winners for the 2012 Arthur Ellis Awards. The winner for Best Juvenile or YA Crime Book is Blink and Caution, written by Tim Wynne-Jones, Candlewick Press.

2012 CBA Libris Awards
The Canadian Booksellers Association has revealed the winners of this year’s Libris Awards, which recognize literary achievement as voted on by independent booksellers. Titles by CANSCAIPers include:

The 2012 winners of the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards were revealed in May at Parkdale Junior and Senior Public School. The winner in the Young Adult / Middle Reader Award Category is The Whole Truth, by Kit Pearson, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Red Cedar Book Awards

The winners of the 2011/2012 Red Cedar Book Awards include Fiction Award WinnerAfter the Fireby Becky Citra,Orca Books.Nominees for next year’s Red Cedar Award were also announced. Titles by CANSCAIPers include:

Entry includes: The first pages of your novel-length manuscript plus a synopsis. Up to 30 pages combined.

Eligibility: The Catherine is open to all unpublished writers (whether or not a member of RWA) and any member of RWA who is not eligible to join RWA-PAN. Entry must be uncontracted, unpublished as of entry date.

First round judging: Each entry will be judged by three writers; the lowest score will be dropped.

Gold Ticket Grand Prize: The top entry in each category is entered into Gold Ticket round to be judged by Kristin Nelson, Nelson Literary Agency. The Gold Ticket winner receives a three-chapter critique by New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.